Folklore: Perhaps one of the oldest living tree species, Ginko’s origin is believe to be remote mountainous valleys of Zhejiang. First introduced into Europe in 1690 by Botanist Engelbert Kaempfer, up until 350 years ago the medicinal knowledge was restricted to China (Braun & Cohen, 2010, p. 493). Traditional therapeutic use is not well documented (Bone & Mills, 2013, p. 597).

Caution should be taken in individuals with coagulation disorders when used in conjunction with antiplatelet or anticoagulant medication, although clinical trials suggesting this are insufficient (Bone & Mills, 2013, p. 617).

History/Folklore: Eurapean Mistletoe was considered a sacred herb in Celtic tradition (Natural Standard, 2014). The herb has a history of use in ancient Greek and Roman medicine (Natural Standard, 2014). The Eclectic’s used large and frequent doses of the fresh plant to facilitate labour (Bone, 2003, p. 329). In the beginning of the 20th century Mistletoe became a cancer therapy in herbal medicine potentially due to the herbs immunostimulatory and cytotoxic actions, however it is yet to gain significant clinical evidence to support this (Natural Standard, 2014).

American Mistletoe (associated with Christmas tradition) is a different species with similar properties, but different traditional uses (Natural Standard, 2014).